


Good to me

by HanaSeong



Category: Inazuma Eleven
Genre: Aged-Up Character(s), Attempt at Humor, Drinking, Eventual Romance, Eventual Sex, Fluff and Angst, Friends to Lovers, M/M, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, References to Depression, Roommates, Sexual Repression, Touch-Starved, basically taking fudou in, fudou is unironically homeless here yall, im having too much fun with the tags, no beta we die like kazemaru in every match, shitty parents, theyre 19 here its all legal, yes it will happen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-02
Updated: 2021-03-02
Packaged: 2021-03-14 08:20:00
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,356
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29789070
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HanaSeong/pseuds/HanaSeong
Summary: Kazemaru's parents leave for a week, and Fudou looks terrible.
Relationships: Fudou Akio/Kazemaru Ichirouta
Comments: 3
Kudos: 13





	Good to me

**Author's Note:**

> This took me more than expected since this years is this close to ending me ;n; but i wanted to do a long FuKaze since they basically give me the life i need lol  
> The title and pretty much the whole fic was inspired by SEVENTEEN's 'Good to me' and 'Fallin' flower', they're both great songs, go check 'em out ;D  
> \+ this is my first fic fully in English and the first half of the first chapter was kinda beta'ed, which really helped me spot some common spelling mistakes. Feel free to correct me if there's anything wrong~

# Good to me

## Day 0

\--------------------

Kazemaru feels he's about to drop at any moment now. The past week has been hell, with exams all over the place, and way too little time to relax- no running, no soccer and as a fairly-not so much but still kind of- outgoing person, not hanging out with friends was his death-. Sure, being alone was great when you have Endou as a close friend and sometimes- more like pretty much the whole damn time- can't even hear your own thoughts under the brunet's constant excitement, but that's when you can listen to music, read, do your things... Stuffing his face with books more expensive than his rent isn't exactly his cup of tea.  


He'd already finished his last exam, and it was, well, decent, but the stress isn't leaving his body anytime soon. His parents are leaving for a week and now he has to find a part-time job to sustain himself for that time. They were leaving money and food, of course, it's not like they're grabbing everything on sight and leaving him to die, but he wants to sit, to do nothing, to recover all the sleep he's already lost between pages and pages of whatever the fuck he's been studying for months he can't even remember now- it's not like he wants to anyways, since he absolutely hates maths and those motherfuckers of equations and their letters can stay right where they are-.  
He still remembers the anxiety attacks on the college hallways the first day of the exam week, and if this had caught him a few years ago, he would have been in that group.  
Yup, high school was a tough time, to say the least. But now he's grown, he's a different person- or so he wants to think-.

He's five minutes away from his local grocery store, where he thinks he has the most chances of being hired, since he's known the owner for a while now. Even though a while might be _underrated_. He still remembers when he was shorter than him and now he's towering him even though he's not that tall. That man has seen him grow from a small ball of depression to the whole fucking circus of low self esteem. Involution it's a thing, prove him wrong.  
So, back to his main problem. The grocery store is right in front of him and it's somehow harder to move the closer he is to the entrance. That's his anxiety kicking in again, isn't it. He takes a deep breath, adjusts his shirt and turns around and starts walking back because there's no goddamn way he's doing it. Why was it so embarrassing in the first place?! He knows him, he should be more confident about it yet there he is, wanting to go back home and launch himself under the blanket. Not to mention the cold air of January is freezing him to his core. 

_I just want to sleep..._

And then he stops right on his tracks, because he can't just go home and say he didn't even try to get the stupid job. His father has zero to no patience and he doesn't feel like testing his luck right after an exam. Also his mother would kick him out, like, _hard_ , because he knows she's so done with his anxiety even when she tries to disguise it as worry.  


Now that he's established pretty well that he has no option it's time for the _i don't want to do it why couldn't they just lend me some money and just leave for the love of god i can't and the even if i get the job it's a stupid grocery store it's not like i'm gonna make a lot of money_ , and also the _they're gonna beat my ass if i show up at home for fuck's sake._  


And so he sighs because he really just wants to rest and forget about everyone for a bit. Come on, he's done with his exams, why can't he turn his brain off like the rest?  
The only advantage to this mess is that his parents were leaving him alone for once. Finally, peace. No more _do this, do that, go here, go there-_. That was going to be a good time for sure. Maybe he could invite some friends to come over and do... something? He's never invited anyone to his house because he knew his parents would say something about someone and then that someone would find out and he would be screwed. They really liked to talk shit about his friends and God was it annoying. And he wasn't usually invited to go anywhere because again they would ask WAY too many questions- _Who are you hanging out with? Is it a girl? Do we know them? Where do they live? How long are you going to be out? We have guests at seven, remember? Have you done your homework? You haven't been studying much lately-_. Just thinking about it makes his head dizzy. No wonder he hasn't seen Endou and the rest in a while now. Also because of their exams, but it's mainly the daily inspection that gets him on his nerves every time he's about to step out of his house.

"Kazemaru! Long time no see!" The voice is friendly but in his brain it sounds like the most horrific screech taken out of the deepest pit of hell he's ever heard. And he's heard Sakuma sing.  
There's no escape now. He can't run- well he can, but, like, having to explain to his parents he ran away from a man with a sac of potatoes in one hand sounded like a shitty idea- or hide. It's a small store okay, not that much space.  
He forces a smile and tries to sound as casual as he can.

"Ah... Hiroshi-san... How are you doing?"

The older man patted him on the back as Ichirouta held back an ugh! he almost spits out with the impact. He sure was strong for his age. At a second glance he realizes that his hair is starting to turn grey, and his eyelids look heavier than he remembers them.  


"Good, good. Your mother told me you were on your final exams already." Before he can open his mouth to speak the man is already talking. "Oh, forget about it, you guys don't like us to bring up your grades everytime we see you, do you?" Kazemaru smiles for the first time in the day. Some common sense from time to time really helps. "So did you finally manage to get a girlfriend?" _Never fucking mind._ "Look at yourself." He feels like an idiot because he looks down at his feet as if he could look at himself that way. "You're handsome! And almost twenty! Lord knows if I was this good-looking at your age I would have had a swarm of girls around me!" He chuckles loudly. _Earth swallow me whole please._  


Well. This is beyond embarrassing. Wait why is he here in the first place?  


_Oh._  


Before the man can start rumbling on and on about what he would do if he was apparently "that handsome"-which he did NOT want to hear-, Ichirouta speaks up.  


"Uhm, Hiroshi-san, my parents are leaving for a week, and I thought- Maybe I could help you with the store? Like, I accept food as a payment as well! It's just so I can be on my own until they come back." He speaks as fast as he can and doesn't really think what he's saying so it comes out more like a plea instead of a question. But he's said it, so the work's done. He isn't proud of the food thing, though.  


"Well, you're lucky, I was thinking about taking a short break. You see, a cousin of mine just had a baby and you know, family dinner, check on the creature... All that stuff." Kazemaru is already celebrating in his mind when a change in the man's expression tells him something's not right. "But will you be able to manage the store while I'm out?"  


For the love of Satan, this is the best thing that has happened to him in the last three weeks- right after Kidou snapping at Endou and almost throwing a chair at his head because he decided to eat ice cream right next to the computer with all of Yuuto's assignments and ended up destroying the poor device. Seeing Kidou trying to kill Endou makes him think he's in the right timeline-. Not only was he not going to be beaten at home, but he was going to be all by himself, no one telling him what to do at all times.  


"Sure! Just tell me what I have to do." The man smiles and now he's relieved because it sure can't be _that_ hard, right?

He's only one hour in and he already wants to dip his head inside the Sapporo beer and drown in it. Sadly, there's not enough liquid and he doesn't like Coke, so no death for today.  
Hiroshi has tought him how to use the cash register and left him to arrange the storage, filled with cans, and bags and a chocolate bar he's found out of place he might eat later because he's stressed to say the least and needs chocolate. How much was it anyways, a hundred yen? He found a hundred yen two days ago by the sideroad- Shit Karma, he guesses, because a hundred yen is not worth months of wanting to defenestrate himself.

With a sigh, he puts the last empty box ot top of the pile and now he's finished his first task.  
He's about to go back to the counter to tell Hiroshi when he notices the older man is talking to someone. Not like it's weird since this is a store after all, and clients are to be expected, but this time he sounds tired and a bit rough, judging by his voice being more forced than usual. Kazemaru peeks through the vegetables section and recognizes the face of one of his old friends he hasn't seen in a long time. He recogizes only the face because Fudou's head is now full of messy brown hair and he's lost weight. He's able to tell even through the multiple layers of clothing he's wearing. Now that he pays more attention, his hair is definitely unwashed and his sneakers are worn out by use.  


He knew Fudou was one hell of a weird guy, but this is beyond confusing.  


He's not the one to judge anyone's style, either, because he lives in oversized shirts and jogging pants. But there's something weird about him. Maybe he would get more information if he was actively listening to their conversation instead of spacing out thinking about how _ragged_ he looks at the moment, but when he snaps out of it, Fudou is already leaving with a small bag Hiroshi's given him at some point. He wants to go and talk to him, he really wants to- but his body won´t move. They didn't have a great relationship anyways. And not to mention there was this strange tension between them he didn't really know how to explain. How many years have been since he's last seen him? He thinks it's, like, three, but he wouldn't bet on it. Thinking about it, he hasn't heard about him since the team split up to go to college.

He decides to let it go for now. He can always ask the rest later.  


Sliding between the piles of boxes, he makes it to the counter. Hiroshi looks somehow saddened by the visit, but he isn't sure if he should ask. The thing is, he has no idea where Fudou lives and the man seems to know him at least. He knows he doesn't have his phone number because Fudou never joined Inazuma's group chat -or any group in general-, and this may be his last chance of finding him again.  
Again, they did not have a good relationship, so why was he being so stubborn on the idea of talking to him? It has to be curiosity. Yeah, that's it. He didn't look exactly good when he saw him and the feeling of _something's not right_ still lingers at the back of his head. Is being curious about Fudou Akio a good idea? Not really. But he's also going to eat a chocolate bar he found behind a bunch of tuna cans, so, whatever.  


"Well, looks like you did a good job. I will be leaving tomorrow so if you have any problem call me to this number." Ichirouta opens his eyes in surprise. So that was it?  


"W-Wait does that mean I got the job?" Hiroshi laughs and pats him again in the back.  


"Of course! I was just playing with you a bit. Your parents have helped me for a long time, it's the least I could do." So he destroyed his back for nothing. Cool.  


Kazemaru sighs for the third time, this time relieved and thanks him before heading back home to share the good news. Or what he thought were good news, because with his parents you could never know.

\-------

Finally, he opens the door carefully. He got the job, but that doesn't mean he wants to tell his parents yet, because even if he's happy about it he knows they will find something to complain about and he really wants to rest. Even if it's for twenty minutes, he just wants some peace.  


Looks like there's no one at home, so his body relaxes as he moves upstairs straight to his room. He takes his phone out of his pocket and stares at it as if it's the most interesting thing in the world. No that he's done studying he's not so sure about what to do now. His back is killing him and he doesn't feel like watching YouTube or reading the news. He's about to slip his phone back in it's place when he remembers he wanted to ask his friends if they know something about Fudou.  
He opens LINE and after swiping through a hundred and something messages, he asks if anyone has heard of Fudou lately. After a few minutes, the rest of the team starts pondering where he might be, and Kidou informs him all he knows its that Sakuma is currently studying economy, and Genda is in engineering.  


Kazemaru rolls on his bed a few times, not sure of what to do. Reaching for his nightstand, he grabs his headphones and plugs them to his phone, playing the first song he finds on his 80's playlist.

He should be happy, he's got the job and there's nothing else to do. It's relax time, finally, but instead of feeling better, his body feels somehow heavier. He's not stupid, though, he knows this is Fudou's fault- Well, not technically, since he hasn't done anything to him for once, but he's like, slightly concerned about him.  


_Damn Fudou and his presence._  


What is he doing anyways? He's laying on his bed and now he feels like an idiot because the idea of talking to him instead of hiding like a coward didn't cross his mind a few hours ago.  


His mind starts reminding him of things he can do now that his exams are over, but his current mood isn't particularly good. Hell, he doesn't even feel like masturbating and he hasn't done it since he started studying full time- which is not normal considering how often he did it on a regular basis-. He turns up the volume before his brain decides to dwell in the fact that he's almost twenty and doesn't have a partner. Doesn't work.  


It's not like he _can't_ find someone- A lot of girls are interested in him, or that's what his roomates mentioned everytime the subject of getting laid came up. And, you know, girls are cute, but they're not his type. That's his subtle way of basically saying he's gay, but he doesn't say it out loud, because this year he's been hanging out with a lot of guys who he knows are going to give him weird looks if they find out he likes dudes. But they're handsome and he can't say no to that. He's not gonna make a move on any of them, though, he's not that dumb to try anything on straight guys, especially knowing the consecuences that sometimes come with it _way_ too well-.  


But it's not that he doesn't _want_ , either. He's been to a few parties- the first one was Fubuki's idea, and he can't thank him enough because he couldn't express how wonderfully alcohol worked on him-, which of course he had to lie about, because as much as his parents could be overprotective, he was better at lying. He likes the feeling of his parents not knowing he has some random good-looking guy's tongue down his throat, or the way alcohol made his anxiety dissapear with a warm sensation, or the pleasure of being able to put his good boy façade aside, even if it was just for a few hours.  


_And still, there's something missing and he doesn't know what it is._

__

"Ichirouta! We're back!"  


His mother's voice brings him back to reality, and he thanks her this time because he was this close to the dark corner of his mind he prefers not to touch for his own sake.  


With heavy steps, Kazemaru drags himself downstairs, where both of his parents await for him with an expectant look on their eyes. Because all the Fudou shenanigans, he forgets for a second he got the job. His mood got slightly ruined by his own thoughts, but the excitement of telling them he did something right for once is enough to bring a small smile to his lips.  


"How did it go?" Before he can answer, his father takes off his shoes and walks past him, not even stopping to look at him in the face. His mother follows him and they both start arranging the luggage for the trip without taking a break. Kazemaru is taken a bit by surprise by this because he expected them to at least pay attention to this. His father stops folding clothes and looks at him with a menacing expression, as if telling him to speak.  


"I will be working at Hiroshi's store." He says it carefully, just in case that's not the correct answer. And by the look on their faces, it looks like he's right.  


"Really? So they didn't accept you anywhere else or you just didn't try?"  


Ichirouta feels his heart drop to the floor hearing that, because he gets really nervous when talking to people he doesn't know, especially if they are going to decide if hiring him or not, and believe it or not he made a lot effort going to different places just because they decided he needed a job for a fucking week.  


"Seriously, Ichirouta, now we owe Hiroshi another favor. I'm sure the poor man hired you because he pitied you." His mother chimes in and the knot forming in his throat becomes insufferable. He wouldn't believe they're treating him like this when they know how hard it is for him to stand up for himself if it wasn't because they do this every single time.  


"At least I got the stupid job." He spits the words out of his mouth and locks himself in his room before his father lectures him about how he doesn't speak to them properly. _They're leaving tomorrow_ is the only thought preventing him from breaking down.  
Kazemaru skips dinner today since he doesn't feel like eating and closes his eyes until he falls asleep. He knows for a fact they won't bother to say goodbye, and he couldn't care less.

\---------

__

He's counting the days he has left in his house before he can live on his own, far away from them.

__

**Author's Note:**

> Anxious!Kaze honestly makes me proud lmao- May I add I've never worked on a store before and it sHowS  
> mf editing the damn fic in ao3 is exhausting af like the damn em thingies are ending me god bless yall i refuse to re read this again  
> My Instagram is @lynarette ♡


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